Shorttakes

 

Hello stranger ~

Oh wait...I think I am the stranger here!  If it seems like I've been lost at sea for the last many months, I would agree with you!  I am hoping I'm finally cutting thru the mists & heading for smoother waters.  Yes, I know, maybe a little much with the sailing metaphors, but I have always ALWAYS loved the ocean, sailing & anything to do with it.  And I can honestly say that in retrospect, all of 2025 I feel like I was truly just trying to guide my little boat thru rough waters, harsh lands & topsy turvy seas.  I have written a longer explanation that you can find here, if you want to get all (or at least a lot) of the scoop of what dragged me down last year.  But what I want to say most of all is,

 

I'M SO SORRY.

 

I have been neglectful of your stitching needs, and all I can say is thank you for not having me "walk the plank" (I'll stop now with the sailing stuff!).  Just to skim the surface, my clinical depression was like a riptide last year ~ everything was seemingly calm, my mom was finally home from 7 months of hospitals, rehabs, surgeries & more, and yet, while all looked good at first glance, I was getting pulled under constantly. I would fight my way to the surface, catch my breath & make my way to shore & then, right back under again.  I would love to say that there were events or triggers or something finite I could identify & work with, but honestly there was not.  Then in early November my mom had a heart attack & that set off another 3 months of worry, stress, hope, sadness, joy & heartbreak.  Mom is home & fine now, but my puppy dog Charlee was diagnosed with an aggressive inoperable tumor right before Christmas, and so we are in a period of "the long goodbye".  Thanks to THOSE events, I feel like I've been even more disconnected to, really, everything.  When I was at the hospital with mom, I felt like I needed to be at the shop. When I was at the shop, I kept waiting for the next call from the ICU.  And when I took Charlee to the vet for what I thought was an abscessed tooth (totally stressing about her having to have surgery at age 10), and then found out that in fact no surgery will help....well, that was another breakdown. 

And I failed you.  I have been furiously framing ~ I got all Christmas gifts finished in time & I thank everyone for their patience.  I am now getting the balance of my outstanding framing finished up.  Also, at the end of the year, one of my favorite frame suppliers ~ Huneywood Frames ~ retired!  I'm so happy for them but needless to say, it leaves a big hole in our frame selection & we have been on the prowl for a way to replace them.  Many of y'all have asked about our annual framing sale & I AM planning to do that, but I wanted a little better understanding of what I can get & from whom before I moved forward.  I have more new mouldings headed our way & hopefully a few new companies to choose from as well, so that sale will be coming up soon!

Another one of our gang here at the shop, Connie, who works with us on Thursdays & has been a fabulous friend & co-worker for as long as I've been back (this time), landed in the hospital right before Christmas (I think she & my mom traded places!) with a wicked infection caused by her newly acquired pacemaker ~ yikes!  What a battle she has had ~ a full month in the hospital, finally ready to discharge to rehab, BUT NO, infection flares up again, more hospital time, and now FINALLY at rehab & working on regaining her strength.  We miss her around here so much & we are grateful she is headed in the right direction, but she scared us to bits.  Please keep her in your thoughts.

And because all that isn't enough, our fabulous finisher extraordinaire & coworker (& FRIEND!) Therese, is getting ready to retire after this year.  She has timed this to coincide with her husband's retirement & they have loads of amazing plans for the future.  We are going to miss her being around the shop & of course we are SERIOUSLY gonna miss her talented work.  Please click here to read her note to y'all.  Aside from missing her, what you need to know is GET STITCHING if you have things you want her to finish for you!

 

 

Moving forward toward better days! We have our Super Bowl (AND MORE!) Sale coming up.  Please click here to read about it because there is a twist this year!  Nashville is on the horizon.  And I am setting up classes again!  I am determined to get Teaching Tuesdays on a regular rotation!  I am also working on a REAL newsletter with great new stuff & updating the website (another casualty of my year-long battle with myself).  So I hope you haven't given up on me ~ truly the days that folks are here in the shop are my favorite days! In fact, I'm sure there are some of y'all who leave here thinking, "Good grief, does she never SHUT UP??"  I'm sure some would find it hard to believe but I am the quiet one in my family!  I'm excited about things coming up and working hard to enjoy something each day (yes, I know I shouldn't have to work at enjoying something....damn depression....but at least I'm making progress?  Maybe?). 

So stay tuned!  I am hoping to get back into a rhythm of newsletters on Fridays again (if it's not EVERY Friday, that's okay too, but that's something I'm shooting for!). 

 

Onward!

 

Hugs & stitches ~

Beth & all my fellow sailors at TSS